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Hugo had a really unfortunate habit of ruining his own life. It wasn’t intentional- if you asked him, he’d swear up and down that he played absolutely no part in causing his entire life to go up in flames, and yet time after time he would keep doing it.
Funny how consequences work.
Maybe he was being a little bit dramatic.
He was sitting in bed, fiddling with the necklace in his hand. It was heavy- probably worth more than he was. A gorgeous, braided frame held a gem that had been expertly cut, reflecting the light from his candle onto the ceiling. He wasn’t totally sure what it was, but if he had to guess, it was a ruby. Whatever it was, it was expensive and absolutely not his. Though, in his defense, it was sitting on a table out in the hallway- it was practically being handed to him on a silver platter.
Varian was going to maim him. To be completely honest, he was thinking about maiming himself. The fact he had let the day before a grand ball with nobles from all across the 7 kingdoms be the day he gave into the urge to grab would be incredible if it wasn’t disastrous.
It was fine. Really, it was. The necklace belonged to Arianna. He’d overheard some guards talking about it the other night- of all the nobles he could have sort of accidentally robbed, Arianna was one of the most forgiving. All he had to do was give it back.
Which meant facing her. He would honestly prefer the gallows.
Maybe he could just stuff it under his mattress and forget about it, feign innocence if someone ever found it. Alternatively he could just throw it into the ocean and pretend like it never existed.
Obviously he wasn’t going to do that. He didn’t know if this necklace had sentimental value and he was pretty sure he would just crawl into the ground and die if he found out her great grandma or something gave it to her on her deathbed.
Hugo sighed, shoving the necklace under his mattress- this was going to be a later problem. The entire castle was abuzz as preparations were made for the ball that Frederic insisted on throwing. Trying to deal with this whole necklace situation now would be a disaster waiting to happen.
Royals were always showing off to each other. It would almost be adorable if it wasn’t disgusting.
He tightened his ponytail, brushing off his shirt as he got up. Varian had insisted he get a suit for tonight. Something about one of the royal engineers walking into a fancy ball in a “bright green onesie” being a bad look. He wasn’t going to wear it until he absolutely had to.
He stepped out the door and cringed as the door hit someone who was speed walking down the hall.
“Hey! Watch it-” an extremely frazzled Eugene started, rubbing his head.
“Maybe you should watch where you’re going, Rider,” he snarled.
“Maybe you should watch where you’re opening the door,” Eugene snarled right back.
“Oh I’m sorry, next time I’ll make sure to use my magic X-ray vision to look through wood to make sure no morons are running right next to my door.”
“I don’t have time for this,” Eugene exclaimed, storming back down the hall.
Hugo let out a tiff. What a prick.
Despite Varian’s constant begging to please stop antagonizing his brother, making Eugene fume was really satisfying. He thought the guy had been uptight when they’d teamed up for that heist back when he was a kid, but living in the palace seemed to have given him a massive stick up his-
“Hugo!” Varian called out excitedly. “I was looking for you!”
“Goggles! Where’s the fire?” Hugo replied as Varian hurried over to him.
“No fire, just Frederic,” Varian sighed. Hugo cringed.
“What does Sir Pompous want now?” Varian smacked him lightly on the chest.
“I told you, stop calling him that, he’s your boss,” Varian admonished.
“I’ll stop calling him that when he stops acting like it,” Hugo said, rolling his eyes. Varian sighed, realizing he wasn’t going to win this fight.
“Frederic wants us downstairs to meet with the nobles. Something about appearances.”
“So he wants me, why?”
“Cause you’re a royal engineer. It’s part of the job description, unfortunately.”
“Why did I agree to this job, again?” Hugo sighed.
“Because you love me,” Varian mocked, taking Hugo’s hand and entangling their fingers together.
“Nah, it’s for the pay,” Hugo smirked.
“Please, like you couldn’t have stolen double what Frederic pays us,” Varian teased.
Hugo suddenly felt nauseous.
“Yeah, well, we shouldn’t keep Freddie waiting, he’ll throw a tantrum,” Hugo said curtly, pulling his hand away from Varian’s, walking down the hall.
Varian blinked at the sudden change in tone, running to catch up to him. He decided to let the nickname slip for the time being.
“Are you OK?” Varian asked.
“All good, Goggles. Just ready to get tonight over with.”
Varian laughed halfheartedly.
“Yeah. The sooner we get it over with, the better.”
Talking was agony.
If Hugo had to spend one more second shaking hands with some puffed up prick, he was going to scream. They all acted the same around him. They’d shake his hand politely, offer a word or two, then turn to find someone more worthy of their time, brushing their hand off on their jacket. He was used to the snubbing but by the sun they weren’t even trying to hide their disgust.
Varian’s hand found Hugo’s again, lugging him around as they talked to people. Every once in a while he’d give his hand a comforting squeeze. It was nice to know at least one person in this room was sane.
After a while, he’d said hi to everyone he needed to, but Varian’s hand hadn’t left his, and he didn’t really have anywhere else to go, so instead he stood staring at the floor while Varian did his very best to schmooze. He was doing an awful job but Hugo was too tired to try and step in.
He was pulled out of his bored stupor when a pair of heels stopped in front of him. He looked up and made eye contact with a woman- he couldn’t remember her name. Her long silk red dress and neck covered completely in extravagant jewelry stood in stark contrast to Hugo’s usual green shirt and pants. He was woefully underdressed (which he took pride in). He stared at her as he tried to run through the hundreds of names he had learnt today to find hers.
“Hugo,” she smiled. “How lovely to talk to you again.”
“Ah. You too,” Hugo replied dumbly.
“Madeline. Lady Madeline,” she said gently.
“Of course ma’am I didn’t-”
“It’s alright my boy, I can hardly keep track of all these names and I’ve been coming to events like this since I was a little girl. It would be cruel to expect someone of your background to be able to.”
Hugo blinked at her comment, not quite able to tell if she was meaning to be insulting or not. That was the thing with these people- even when they were being nice they had to be snide. He curled his lip as he tried to think of a response, but she continued, cutting him off.
“Speaking of which, I must know. What exactly is it you do around here?”
“I’m a royal engineer. I engineer,” he replied bluntly. She let out a small chuckle at that.
“Yes yes but what projects do they have you working on? I really am interested in how someone without any formal training like you managed to land such a prestigious job.”
Hugo shrugged.
“Varian helped me get the job and I’ve been doing projects like the ones they have me working on here since I was a little kid. No formal training required,” he snapped.
“I see. I didn’t mean to offend,” she said. Despite the apologetic nature of her words, her tone held no remorse.
“Well you did,” he grumbled. He pulled himself towards Varian, retreating away from her before she could try and continue their disaster of a conversation. She took the hint, giving him one last knowing look before turning to talk to somebody else.
Luckily, even rich people need to eat. Rapunzel had offered Hugo and Varian dine with them, and Hugo couldn’t turn her down fast enough. She smiled in understanding, not even trying to push as they turned to leave the castle, content to find dinner somewhere else. He needed something with grease.
Varian smiled as he found an open booth tucked away in the back corner of the Snuggly Duckling. He plopped himself down, careful not to drop the large roast beef sandwich he’d gotten as he slapped it ungracefully down on the table. The booth almost created a little alcove, keeping him separate from the other people in the pub. As much as they both loved the Snuggly Duckling guys, they really just needed junk food and some peace and quiet.
Varian raised an eyebrow at Hugo’s massive plate of fries. Hugo looked back at him, challenging, wrapping one arm around his plate as he sat down.
“You’re not even going to share?” Varian asked, eyeing his plate.
“If you wanted some, you should have ordered some Goggles.”
Varian rolled his eyes, reaching his hand over Hugo’s arm. Hugo slapped his hand back, shoving a handful of fries into his mouth.
“You’re ridiculous,” Varian chastised.
Hugo tried to reply, but with his face stuffed with fries, it sounded more like mrrffmrrm. Varian laughed, making another move for Hugo’s plate. Soon, they were slap fighting like children.
This was what life was all about- not shaking hands with a bunch of self important assholes while they insulted him clear as day to his face. It was about throwing fries at Varian, despite the fight starting because he didn’t want to share in the first place. It was about stealing a sip of his milkshake while he was turned away and laughing as he turned that bright shade of red he always did when he was flustered or angry. Young love.
Hugo had shoved another handful of fries into his mouth when he heard footsteps come up from behind him. Varian’s face lit up. Hugo whipped around, only to make direct eye contact with Fitzherbert while his cheeks were still puffed up from the inhuman amount of fries he had stuffed in there. His eyes widened, trying his best to swallow them, coughing as he failed miserably.
“Hugo, I’ll give you a tip. You’re meant to swallow your food,” Eugene smiled sarcastically.
Hugo grumbled a completely unintelligible retort. Despite having no way to hear what he said, Varian still smacked his knee lightly, only needing to hear the muffled swallow to know he’d said something lewd.
Eugene rolled his eyes, moving around the table to sit next to Varian who scooched to give him room. Hugo glowered, swallowing his fries.
“Shouldn’t you be back at the castle with Rapunzel?” Varian asked.
“I’m picking up some desserts,” Eugene smiled. “I don’t think I could have offered to help fast enough.”
Varian snorted, taking another bite of his sandwich.
Eugene ripped a piece of beef off of Varian’s sandwich, stuffing it into his mouth as Varian squawked.
“Hey-!”
“Taxes,” Eugene shrugged.
“That’s not how taxes work, Eugene.”
“It is because I said it is. Who’s Captain of the Guard, again?”
“That’s an abuse of power.”
“Not if I say it isn’t,” Eugene smirked, taking another bite of sandwich from Varian’s plate. Varian squawked again, pushing at his face as he chewed victoriously.
Hugo tapped the table awkwardly, watching the two argue. Varian looked at him with an evil glint in his eyes before reaching forward and grabbing a handful of Hugo’s fries.
Hugo glared at him, pulling the plate back towards his chest.
“Traitor,” Hugo snarled halfheartedly.
“Fry hog,” Varian retorted.
Hugo glared as Eugene took 2 fries off of his plate. Eugene shrugged.
“Taxes.”
All the oil soaked fries in the world couldn’t prepare Hugo for the absolute nightmare that was this ball. He had pushed his luck with his outfit far enough, and had been forced into the tight suit that Varian had made him buy. His vest wrapped tightly around his waist, pushing on his rib cage enough to make breathing in just that little bit uncomfortable. His shoes were tight, already giving him blisters, making him want to hop around like a kangaroo to give his poor feet a god damn break.
Varian was equally uncomfortable in his suit, he could tell by the way he tugged at the collar and pulled at the sleeves. He’d had to give up his goggles and gloves which had taken a little bit of fighting on Rapunzel’s part.
Their hands stayed latched together as they pushed open the door to the ball- and holy shit was it loud . How they managed to make violin music this loud and overwhelming was anybody’s guess. The room was just teetering on overfilled, forcing him to have to shove his way through people dressed in suits that were worth more than every single thing he owned. He kept his hand latched tightly with Varian’s using him as a lifeline.
“Varian! Hugo! You made it!” Rapunzel’s voice somehow cut through the sea of noise, making Hugo’s ears ring.
“As if we had a choice,” Hugo grumbled under his breath. Varian gave him a look before turning back to face Rapunzel.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” he smiled awkwardly. Rapunzel quirked an eyebrow making the two of them burst out laughing. Hugo rolled on the balls of his feet, feeling pretty out of place.
He let go of Varian’s hand for one second to pull at his collar to get it to stop squeezing him to death. Unfortunately for him, that second was all it took for someone to grab Varian’s attention, pulling him away. Hugo looked down for one second, and in that one second, he was gone.
Hugo blinked, looking over at Rapunzel who only shrugged. He let out an exasperated sigh, pushing his way back through the crowd to try and find his ghost of a boyfriend.
“Goggles?” he called out. “Varian?”
No luck- he saw a million faces and none of them were familiar. Eyes burned holes into him, staring down at him. They knew he didn’t belong- they could sense it. They were like sharks, sniffing out his fear and circling him, preparing to strike. He gasped for air like a fish out of water, trying to keep from looking at the disapproving eyes that seemed to follow him everywhere.
He only lasted about 5 minutes before he cracked, shoving his way back to the door. Varian could find him outside.
Hugo pushed open the door to the ball, gasping to take in as much of the crisp fresh air as he possibly could. The garden he had found himself in was massive, giving him plenty of room to walk around- and more importantly, hide.
A chill ran down his spine as a particularly strong gust of wind blew through. Despite fall just starting, Corona had already cooled down significantly. He rubbed his hands together, before pushing them into his pockets to try and warm himself up. Despite the cold, the quiet of the outside caused his nerves to loosen.
He wandered down the dirt path that defined the gardens walkway, walking on the edge of the path intentionally to let leaves and flowers brush lightly past his pants. The sound of his heels crunching in the dirt lull him into an almost trance. Even out here, the music from the ball could still faintly be heard but it was more calming than overwhelming now that he was alone.
He could stay out here forever.
Of course, that was the exact moment he had to hear footsteps. He jumped, twisting around to see where they’d come from. There were multiple, ruling out Varian coming to find him. He groaned, moving to stand behind the rose bush he had stood next to, standing completely still. He’d deal with rose thorns poking into his arms and leaves all over his jacket and pants if it meant not having to put up with anymore condescending looks from the snobs at that ball. Hopefully, whoever was moving towards him would get bored and find somewhere else to go. This was his spot, dammit.
“So what? We just use the party as a cover? What if we get spotted?”
“That’s what the explosives are for, nimwit. It had better not come to that because I do not want to be stuck cleaning up a mess because you morons don’t know how to steal a damn crown.”
That made Hugo take pause. He ducked his head, keeping himself low to the floor. This was definitely something he was not meant to overhear. As he lowered himself, his arm caught on one of the branches. He tried to slowly pull the thorn off of his shirt, breathing out as silently as he could as the branch bounced back up.
“Ssh,” one of the voices said, causing Hugo’s blood to run cold. He held his breath. He couldn't hear talking anymore, causing his heart rate to spike. His eyes began to flit around the garden, looking for somewhere he could escape without being seen.
He locked eyes with a circle of small trees not far from him. They stood in front of a large hedge maze. If he could make it behind the trees, he could use the cover of the hedges.
He crept backwards, prepared to move when a twig behind him snapped, and before he could turn to react, a hand snatched his wrist, holding it tight enough to bruise.
“Going somewhere?” the voice asked sternly. Hugo’s eyes widened as he recognized the man as one of the Neserdian nobles. The man glared down at him as he squirmed against his grip.
“Madeline,” he called out. “We’ve got ourselves a rat.”
Lady Madeline stepped around the bushes, glaring at Hugo as if he were a piece of dirt she had scraped off of his shoe. She was followed closely by a young man- a little older than Hugo, dressed just as professionally as the other two.
“How lovely to see you again, Hugo,” she smiled sarcastically. He glared at her in response.
“Do we kill him?” the man asked, somehow managing to tighten his grip on his arm even more. Hugo grimaced, biting his tongue to keep himself silent.
“Nah, I don’t fancy burying a body tonight,” she said smugly. She gripped Hugo’s jaw, digging her nails into the flesh just enough to hurt. “Besides, I don’t think he’ll say anything.”
“What makes you so sure of that, darling?” Hugo spat.
She gave a malicious smile, tugging his face up to meet her gaze.
“A man with your background? Please. When push comes to shove, who do you think they’re going to believe sweetheart? Especially when they find that necklace stashed under your bed. My goodness, the scandal,” she smiled. Hugo glared at her.
“How did you-”
The smile fell from her face, morphing into a venomous glare that caused Hugo to shrink backwards.
“I’ll stop being coy, dear. You tell anyone what you heard tonight, I will find the little alchemist you trail around, and I will kill him. Then, I will make sure that you are prosecuted for every single crime we commit tonight. You aren’t the first rat we’ve had exterminated, and you certainly won’t be the last. Do I make myself clear?”
Hugo tensed his jaw, keeping his mouth locked shut. She dug her nails deeper into his skin.
“Do I make myself clear?” she asked again, emphasizing every word.
“Crystal,” he said silently, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. She finally released his face, causing him to wince.
“Perfect,” she smiled, nodding to the man who threw him to the ground. He kept his face pressed into the grass as he heard their footsteps moving softly away from him. He coughed into the dirt, trying to get air back into his lungs but every breath made him feel like he was asphyxiating.
He looked around the garden- he couldn’t stay out here. Lady Madeline and her cronies were still out here and he didn’t want to deal with seeing her face again.
He wanted Varian, but finding his boyfriend meant braving that goddamn ballroom again- he would rather die.
He pushed himself up, out of the dirt, wiping his eyes. He hurriedly walked along the path towards the door to the ballroom. Instead of walking back through the doors, he turned a corner and walked along the wall until he finally found a door to a servant’s corridor. He smiled, pushing it open and immediately being hit with warmth.
He shut the door and began walking- he didn’t have a destination. He had no clue where he was, he just couldn't stand still.
He still wanted to find Varian, but the image of Varian looking at him with disgust when he found out Hugo hadn’t changed at all caused that thought to turn sour.
He didn’t belong here. He didn’t belong in this corridor- he kept bumping into workers who were carrying large food trays and cleaning supplies. His shoulders were just that bit too wide making him a walking hazard no matter how much he tried to press himself against the wall. He didn’t belong in this castle- those nobles, the royal family, everyone seemed determined to remind him at every second that they saw him as nothing more than the filthy rat he had grown up as. (Frankly, they weren’t far off. He might be a rat with morals, but he was pretty comfortable being street trash.)
He didn’t belong with Varian.
That was something he’d always known deep down, but bringing that thought to the forefront of his mind hurt. His chest felt tight- the vest was squeezing, keeping his ribs from moving, causing him to heave. No matter how he moved his chest he couldn’t get any air. Workers gave him concerned looks as he walked past, gulping for air. Their eyes weren’t condescending but they still stared . They all saw him. They saw how unworthy he was. They saw that he didn’t belong-
Hugo walked out of the corridor, and made eye contact with a storage closet. Without a second thought, he threw the door open, and collapsed inside, falling to his knees hard enough to bruise. He crawled to the door, pulling it shut at the base and sighing in relief as he heard the latch click.
He pulled his knees to his chest, pressing his face into his leg and sobbed as quietly as he possibly could.
He couldn’t tell how much time had passed before he heard a faint knock on the door. He wiped his eyes, pushing the door shut with his foot.
“Occupied,” he tried to yell. His voice was raw from crying, making it sound more pathetic than he'd meant to.
“This is a closet,” Eugene’s voice sounded through the door. Hugo curled his lip as Eugene pushed the door open against his foot, forcing him to pull his leg back towards his chest.
“Thanks, Fitzherbert, I have eyes,”
“Yeah, well you can’t boot people out of a closet.”
“Can now,” Hugo grumbled.
“Ok now-”
“What do you want,” Hugo snapped.
Eugene’s jaw clicked shut as he took in Hugo’s frazzled state. Hugo shrank under his stare. Eugene took a moment to think, before sliding down next to Hugo, pulling the door shut as he went. Hugo glared at him, scooching into the corner, as far from him as he could get. Eugene took the hint and didn’t try to follow him.
“So what’s wrong?” Eugene prompted.
“Who says anything’s wrong?” Hugo retorted quietly.
Eugene raised his eyebrows.
“Kid, you’re in a closet.”
“I spent several years in one before I came out to Don, thank you very much,” Hugo smirked. Eugene looked at him unamused, causing him to frown. He chewed on his bottom lip.
“‘Herbert-”
“Fitzherbert,” Eugene corrected.
“Herbert, you stopped being a criminal for Rapunzel, right?”
Eugene nodded silently.
“How did- how did she,” Hugo cut himself off with a frustrated groan.
Eugene waited patiently as Hugo tried to put the words he wanted together.
“How did you just stop,” he finally exclaimed, pressing his face back into his knees to avoid making eye contact with Eugene.
“It wasn’t like I was turning off a switch if that’s what you’re asking,” Eugene replied sincerely. “I might live in a castle, but instincts don’t just go away.”
Hugo pushed himself back further into the corner, biting his lip hard enough it started to bleed.
“Look, kid. It’ll take time- it’ll feel weird for a while but-”
“I stole the Queen’s necklace,” Hugo blurted out.
Eugene stopped, looking at him with confused eyes. Hugo groaned, frustrated.
“The Queen left one of her necklaces out. I took it,” he elaborated quietly.
“She just left it out? Sounds like she was practically giving it to you,” Eugene joked.
“Eugene -”
“No seriously kid, is that what this is about?”
Hugo shrugged.
“Kid, she probably has about 50 of those exact same necklaces. I swear she will not be that upset if you give it back,” he explained.
“But I- what if she’s upset? What if she throws me out? What if Varian finds out and wants nothing to do with me I mean get real Herbert-”
“I told you. It’s Fitz herbert,” Eugene admonished. Hugo let out a frustrated tiff.
“Kid,” Eugene started sincerely. “Half this castle staff is made of ex cons. Varian is an ex con. I think out of everyone in this whole castle, he’s going to understand.”
Hugo rested his back against the back of the closet, releasing himself from his protective ball just a tiny bit. Eugene sat crisscrossed, a safe distance from him. Hugo smiled as for the first time that night, the knot in his chest loosened, making it easier to breathe.
He remembered Lady Madeline’s glare, and suddenly the knot was back again. The relaxed smile quickly fell from his face as he swallowed back bile.
Of course, Eugene noticed.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Hugo choked on his spit, pressing himself back into the wall.
“What makes you say that?” he coughed.
“Kid, you have the same tell Varian does.”
“Which is?”
“He falls for that,” Eugene smirked. Hugo guffawed, glaring at Eugene as he pressed his face back into his knees.
“It’s not important,” Hugo mumbled.
“Obviously it is,” Eugene prompted. He slowly brought his hand down towards Hugo’s shoulder, letting it hover just above it for a second before making contact, giving Hugo the chance to push him away. When he didn’t, he settled it very gently. Hugo didn’t untense, but he still didn’t flinch.
He wasn’t sure what it was- maybe it was the stress from the everything that had been today, or it was the tone of voice Eugene was using, a stark contrast to the snark they always used with each other that made Hugo feel dizzy. Or maybe he was just riding the post panic attack high- whatever it was, Hugo stopped being careful, let his walls down just enough to spit out:
“What do you do if someone knows you did something bad and holds it over your head?”
Hugo felt Eugene’s hand tense on his shoulder, and he braced himself.
“You’re being blackmailed?”
Hugo felt his mouth go dry. He slammed his jaw shut with a click.
“Kid, if this is about the necklace, I swear, it does not matter.”
“It’s not just about the goddamn necklace, Eugene,” Hugo hissed.
“Well, what is it about?”
Hugo stared angrily at the wall.
“Look, kid. You’re- you’re a lot like I was. A lot. I know you don’t think you can change, and that it’s hopeless but I know that’s not true and I’m not going to sit here and let you believe that. You make Varian really happy, and that kid’s like my little brother. I’m not going to lock you up because some priss decided to hold some stupid old necklace over your head.”
Something unreadable fell on Hugo’s face. He gave Eugene a careful look, picking at the skin on his thumb.
A heavy silence fell on the room. Eugene began to rub circles into Hugo’s shoulder with his thumb, cutting lightly through the fog. Finally, Hugo took a deep breath.
“Lady Madeline,” he mumbled. Eugene raised his eyebrows, prompting him to continue.
“She wants to use the ball as a cover to steal a crown,” Hugo said quickly before he could wimp out. “I overheard them in the garden.”
“And they’re using the necklace to keep you quiet?”
“They said they’ll frame me if I say anything,” Hugo admitted quietly.
Eugene pursed his lips. The hand at his side curled into a fist.
“Eugene, you can’t do anything, she’ll kill Varian if she found out I told you- you can’t-”
“Kid, I’ve dealt with way scarier people than that lady,” Eugene smiled. “Plus. She threatened my baby brother and blackmailed you? Oh she is going down .”
Hugo let the ghost of a smile fall on his face.
“Thanks, Eugene.”
“Come on kid, let's go kick some rich people ass,” Eugene grinned, standing up and offering his hand to Hugo who took it, using his weight to pull himself up.
Lady Madeline had a pretty good headstart on them, but what she had in time the two more than made up for in determination.
They didn’t have time to enlist help- doing that could put Varian at risk, since they also didn’t have time to track him down. Luckily, the lab was on the way to the vault, so a pitstop didn’t waste any time at all.
Their plan was so incredibly shaky. Hugo wiped his sweaty palms on his pants as they hurried down the hall. His breathing was already picking up as they ran as he tried his best to keep his cool.
They made their way down to the vault, cringing as they passed the two guards standing watch outside of it- they were out cold, one resting his head on the other as they snored obnoxiously.
Hugo stepped ahead of Eugene, nodding at him as Eugene pushed back into a corner, staying carefully out of sight. Hugo took one last deep breath before he pushed open the door to the vault, holding his dagger protectively in front of his chest.
As expected, in the vault stood Lady Madeline, and the two men she was with in the garden, holding a large, bulging purse. It didn’t exactly take a genius to work out what was in there as he looked around at the barren shelves.
“Hugo! How nice of you to join us, Sweetheart,” she said warmly. Hugo’s eyes narrowed, taking a more defensive stance.
“Wish I could say the same for you,” he spat.
“Oo feisty,” she laughed. “I thought we had a deal, Love.”
“Your deal sucked,” Hugo retorted.
“Shame,” she sighed. “I so did like that little alchemist,”
“You lay one hand on him -” Hugo cried out.
“I really didn’t want to have to do this, Hugo.”
Hugo smirked, pulling a piece of cloth over his mouth.
“Neither did I,” he said, muffled through the fabric.
Before she had a chance to react, Eugene kicked down the door, slamming a smoke bomb onto the floor.
Lady Madeline cried out as the smell of sulfur burned her nostrils.
“Get them!” she yelled, coughing on the smoke.
The two men descended on Hugo and Eugene. They both ripped the cloth off of their mouths as the smoke dissipated.
They stood side to side, weapons drawn. The larger man lunged at Eugene who jumped backwards, blocking his sword with his own. Hugo stabbed at the smaller man, catching his shirt sleeve, causing him to yell. In retaliation, he kicked Hugo in the knee, causing him to cry out as his knees buckled from the blow.
Hugo grabbed the man’s shin, causing him to lose his balance, falling backwards and slamming his head on the hard vault floor. He yelled, twisting onto his side, and stabbing his knife at Hugo. It caught Hugo’s arm, causing him to grunt in pain. Hugo jumped at the man, holding his knife over his throat to keep him down.
Hugo smiled a little as the man stopped moving, but the smile was immediately wiped off his face as he felt something sharp press into his back.
“Off of him,” Lady Madeline snarled. Her voice had lost the poise she seemed to always wear, morphing into something more animalistic and guttural. Hugo froze. She pressed her knife harder into his back, causing him to flinch. Slowly, he removed the knife from the man’s neck, staying still as he wiggled out from under him. The sound of metal hitting metal was gone, telling Hugo that Eugene had also stopped fighting.
“Now, here’s what’s going to happen,” Madeline hissed in Hugo’s ear. You’re going to watch while we kill your little friend here,” she gestured up at Eugene who stood still, sword still in hand.
“Well that hardly seems fair-” Eugene tried to cut in.
“Then, you’ll wait here while my men pick up your little boyfriend, and watch us kill him too. Then I’ll give you a choice.”
When she didn’t speak, Hugo swallowed.
“What choice?”
“You get to decide whether you spend the rest of your little life behind bars, or if we get to kill you, nice and slow,” she chuckled. Hugo shivered, gripping his knife hard enough his fingers turned white.
“Do I get a say in this?” Eugene asked.
“Shut it,” she snapped, pushing her knife further into Hugo’s back, drawing blood. Hugo choked back a whimper.
“No, really. I feel like I should get a say if you’re about to kill me- I mean do I at least get to pick how I die because I’ve always really liked the idea of being impaled-”
“Shut up!” she yelled. Hugo couldn’t hold back a yell as she twisted the knife around. Eugene made very brief eye contact with Hugo. He nodded towards the wall. Hugo nodded ever so slightly.
“Unfortunately, Madeline, no can do. You see, it's one of my fatal flaws, really. I can't seem to keep quiet!" Eugene yelled.
Hugo jumped away from Madeline, pushing up against the wall as Eugene threw one of Varian’s goo bombs at her. She screamed as the bomb immediately began to burst, expanding into a giant pink mess. She pulled at it uselessly as the substance trapped her to the floor.
The two men descended on Eugene and Hugo again, but this time they were ready. Hugo threw another goo bomb at the smaller man who tried to block it with his knife. It bounced off of the blade, and landed on the larger man, causing it to explode and trap them both together.
“You won’t get away with this, you disgusting creature!” Madeline cried out, glaring at Hugo.
Eugene’s eyes darkened.
“Let me set the record straight, miss,” he spat, sauntering towards her. “You do not get to call him that. Hugo is 10 times the person you will ever be.”
Madeline grunted as the blade of Eugene’s sword was placed gently onto her nose.
“If you ever lay one single little finger on him, I’ll make sure you never see the light of day again. Do I make myself clear?” he asked, pressing the blade ever so slightly downwards.
“Crystal,” she choked. Eugene smiled, removing his sword from her face and walking away.
Eugene wrapped his arm around Hugo’s shoulder, pulling him out of the vault, shutting the door and muffling Madeline’s screams as she struggled against the goo.
Eugene groaned as they walked down the hallway.
“This is going to be so much paperwork.”
Hugo snorted.
“You know, I just saved your heinie. Do you think I can get an apology for dropping a piano on my head now?”
Hugo barked out a proper laugh, holding his sides as they walked down the hallway.
“I mean you kind of deserved it,” Hugo chuckled
“You could have broken my beautiful face ,” Eugene cried out, unwrapping his arm from around Hugo’s shoulder.
“Fine, fine. I’m sorry, you’re not half bad, Old Man,” Hugo snickered.
“I’m letting that nickname go because you almost died,” Eugene sighed. “You’re not half bad either kid.”
“Hugo! ” Varian’s voice cut through the hallway. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere ! Where’d you go?”
Hugo laughed.
“It’s a little bit of a long story.”
“Are you bleeding ?!” he cried out as he ran up to Hugo. He grabbed Hugo’s arm, coughing to hold back a gag as he looked at the blood running down Hugo’s arm.
“It’s fine, Sweetcheeks. I’ve had worse.”
“What -”
“It’s alright, kid. We dealt with it. I can handle everything down here. You two can go back to wherever it is you retreat to,” Eugene said placatingly.
Hugo huffed a laugh.
“Thanks, Eugene.”
“Don’t sweat it, kid,” Eugene said as he walked back towards the ballroom.
“Are you going to tell me what ha-” Varian was cut off as Hugo tugged him forward into a tight embrace. He froze, before he gave in, melting into Hugo’s chest.
“In a minute,” Hugo sighed. Varian nodded.
“I’m glad you let me stay here, Var,” Hugo said into Varian’s hair.
“I am too,” Varian sighed into Hugo’s chest.
Deep down, Hugo realized that he believed him.